Hawks' Zaccharie Risacher pulls off feat not seen before in NBA history

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With the continued injury problems of De’Andre Hunter, the Atlanta Hawks have begun turning over the starting small forward position to the first overall pick of the 2024 NBA Draft, Zaccharie Risacher. Now, leading up to the Hawks’ Wednesday night clash against the New York Knicks, Risacher has been very inconsistent — making his breakout game in a 121-115 win feel that much sweeter.

Risacher had the game of his life on Wednesday night; he led the Hawks in scoring with 33 points on the night, and he did so on an efficient 11-18 shooting from the field (6-10 from three). Moreover, he filled up the box score, nabbing seven rebounds, three assists, three steals, and two blocks. And in so doing, the 19-year-old French international became the first-ever rookie in NBA history to reach those numbers in a single game, according to StatMuse.

Unlike in recent seasons, there hasn’t been much hype surrounding the first overall pick, and Risacher’s performances to begin the year haven’t done much in the way of convincing fans that the most recent draft class to enter the league is relatively lackluster compared to recent years. But in the Hawks’ win over the Knicks, Risacher’s two-way potential was in full display.

Risacher has the physical tools to be a disruptor on the defensive end. Standing at 6’9″ with a long wingspan, the Hawks rookie was flying everywhere on Wednesday, racking up deflections while being an overall nuisance to deal with on the weak side of the defense.

While the 19-year-old forward projects to be more of a complementary player on offense more so than a lead offensive initiator, operating on a team with Trae Young at the controls is perfect for where Risacher is at this point of his career. And with Jalen Johnson’s continued emergence and Dyson Daniels showing out on defense, the Hawks are assembling for themselves an impressive young core, and the league better take notice.

Hawks are soaring on an upward trajectory

There was much pessimism surrounding the Hawks following a disappointing past two seasons as the Trae Young-Dejounte Murray partnership failed to work according to plan. Trading Murray away, a nightly 20-5-5 threat who emerged as one of the biggest threats in the clutch last season, only caused the Hawks’ stock to fall even further.

But the Hawks have been mostly competitive to begin the season, and perhaps they would be even better than their current 4-5 record had it not for their current injury problems. At the moment, Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter are on the mend, and both of those players provide an additional scoring punch that could have helped the Hawks win one or two more ballgames.

So far, the Hawks are re-learning the blueprint of putting together the ideal roster around Young. Young needs to have positive defenders playing alongside him as well as players who don’t command too much of the ball while being capable of making plays all the same. And they seem to be better off now that the Murray era in Atlanta is over.

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